Qatar Exchange to extend trade hours, amend tick sizes

Qatar Exchange will extend its trading hours and amend minimum price movements of listed stocks amid rising investor interest in the tiny Gulf Arab state, the bourse said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

The exchange will open from 0630 GMT to 1000 GMT. It currently trades from 0700 GMT to 0945 GMT.

The bourse will also amend stocks’ tick sizes – the minimum share price movement. The statement did not indicate when the reforms would be implemented.

Shares trading at less than 25 riyals ($6.87) will have a tick size of 1 dirham, those valued at 25 to 50 riyals can move a minimum of 5 dirhams, while shares worth more than 50 riyals wll have a tick size of 10 dirhams. There are 100 dirhams in a riyal.

“The changes will make trading more flexible for investors and should help increase liquidity,” said Hani Girgis, assistant chief dealer at Dlala brokerage in Doha.

Qatar’s index was the top performing Middle East benchmark in 2010, rising 25 percent as double-digit economic growth and a successful bid for the 2022 soccer World Cup helped stocks surge.